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cheezI slept straight through the night, waking up a little before my alarm at 5:30. The time difference helped me out. I was tired, but no more than the normal amount from after a flight. I was pretty sure that the "try to arrive 30 minutes before the tour" was an exaggeration meant to keep anyone from arriving late, but I still left early.
I felt antsy, unsure of myself. Maybe I shouldn't have booked a tour. Would I have to talk to the other passengers or the crew? Why did even the idea of that, when I had no idea how many other people there were, or what kind of people they were, when they could've been swapped out with amorphous black blobs, fill me with dread?
Stepping out into the cool morning air helped. Even this early, before the sun was fully out, it wasn't cold. The buildings around me were still tinged with a shadowy blue, and driving by the green-blue sea felt like moving through a dream.
turtle canyon snorkel tour
I reached the parking lot too early, waited until the clock passed 6:45, then stepped outside. I walked up to the pier, passed another larger group where I heard, "are you looking for Captain Max? that's over there", and veered in the direction of a smaller group of people a little further down the pier.
There were four caucasians, three that seemed to be a group and one that was on his own. I don't mean to stereotype (or maybe I do, a little), but on the surface, the group of the three looked like a postcard for white tourists in Hawaii. There was a middle-aged man with a beard, a bit of a beer belly, and a Hawaiian shirt, and a younger man and woman who were possibly his children or possibly a couple? The younger man looked like a slightly more fit version of the older one, tall, stocky, only starting on the beer belly, and the woman looked like she'd stepped out of a plastic surgery commercial. Not to say that she had gotten plastic surgery, or that it mattered either way, but she had that look: tiny, tan face with hollow cheeks, giant lips, and thick fake eyelashes, blonde hair pulled up in a bob. They looked older than me, but not by much, so if I were to guess, I'd say they were both in their early to mid 30s. The one on his own I don't remember that much—he seemed normal?
One of the people in the group of three had started talking to the one on his own. I stopped a few steps away from them. I don't like walking up to groups in general, and I didn't want to be talked to by that group of the three. They seemed a little intense (though really I don't know anything about them so this is probably my misperception, I mean, they seemed friendly enough), and I wasn't sure my morning brain could handle any level of intensity. I shouldn't have worried though. The woman eyed me a little, but aside from that, none of them tried to approach me.
While we stood there waiting, I wished for a little bit that I'd stayed in the car longer, but overall my timing was good. It wasn't long before the boat captain arrived (Max, lol. I laugh because I didn't missed his name during the introduction and didn't immediately connect the dots from him to Captain Max Boat Tours), as well as the last passenger, an older man with white hair and an eastern european accent.
The group of three started joking around a little with the captain. I guess they were trying to lighten the mood, but I didn't find their jokes funny. It was things like, "if xxx happens, can I get my money back? haha", or "so, like, how do you know that we're safe out there? okay, but like, how do you know know?"
We walked over to the inflatable boat, a small boat with exactly six seats. That's why I'd chosen this tour in the first place, because it was capped at six people.
Our snorkeling guide was waiting there. He was...kind of cute? Gah, I don't want to be this kind of superficial person, but I guess I am. He had a nice voice too... I'll stop here.
I got the best seat on the boat, in the front along with the older, possibly eastern european man. He talked about his wife and children, an easy conversation where I didn't have to contribute much. And when Max drove the boat at high speed, we got a full view of the front of the boat carving through the ocean, spraying mist against our cheeks. Felt the rush of our speed, felt how small we were in this gray-blue early morning ocean, mountains in the distance and clouds overhead.
The spot where we stopped felt like a random location out in the water to me. But underneath the water, they told us, there were moorings to tie the boat into. Boats were't allowed to drop anchor here, to keep from hurting the coral or wildlife.
After they passed out fins, snorkel equipment, and floaties, we jumped into the water.
At first the water felt cold, but it didn't take to long to adjust. Especially since I was distracted by the fish around us. The snorkel guide threw some food into the water for the fish, and they swarmed up to the surface to get their fill. I asked him what the food was, and he said dog food, the mini kind. They used to use larger dog food, but only the larger fish were able to eat that kind. And before that, he said they used hot cheetos. That was a big surprise for me. I guess fish in Hawaii know their snacks.
I discarded the floatie early on. It was fun to try diving down a short distance in the water, even though the visibility wasn't great, and the coral was a dull, whitish color. Some of the fish swam closer to the coral and didn't come up to the surface, like a couple small yellow ones that seemed to be eating something near the coral.
I didn't go very far down though. For one thing, I didn't want to cause any concern, but also, it was much harder to pop my ears for the pressure than I'd thought it would be. I've never had any problem with that in a pool, but I guess it's not as easy with a snorkel on and in the ocean.
I missed the first turtle. I was too far away when our snorkel guide pointed it out. But it wasn't too much of a loss. Not long after, he pointed out another one swimming by us. So close the snorkel guide had to pull me away when I wasn't sure which direction to go to get out of its way. It was huge, its body the size of my torso. I saw four more turtles, three coming up to get air, and one underneath us. One of them lingered a while at the surface, and we were able to watch it crane its head up several times to get air.
The beer-bellied possible dad dove a little too close to a turtle (on purpose -___-), the blonde woman was able to take a video for her children, the others got their shots with their waterproof phones. I was reminded how mysterious, how mystical wildlife is. That a sea-dweller would need air.
Soon it was time to return to the boat. Good timing, again, for me. Though I wanted to see more of the wildlife, my body wasn't up to it. I'd started diving more because the slight bob of the waves on the surface was making me a little motion sick.
Another round of speed boating—wooot! We talked a bit with the snorkel guide and captain, who had been so friendly and helpful throughout, and soon were back at the pier. I touched my face as I walked back to my car, feeling the indents left by the snorkel.
I surprised myself by feeling happy that I'd gone. Of course I enjoyed seeing the turtles and fish, but enjoyment isn't the same thing as happiness, and while I'm generally okay at enjoying myself (or at least faking it enough that no one else feels uncomfortable), I'm not so good at feeling happy.
I think I was a bit proud of myself in a way. I know that's silly, what's there to be proud of for attending a tour I booked? But I suppose I've always been a little scared that if left on my own I would curl up in a cave and never emerge, that any courage I have only comes from my friends. So it still felt important to me that I didn't back out at the last minute, that I talked to a few strangers, that I tried something new on my own. Even though in reality they were all such small things.
ali'i coffee
Back in the car, I got a text from my roommate. His friend hadn't been able to get a day off work, so he was free!
He came to pick me up from my hotel after I finished showering, and since he'd been chilling at Ali'i coffee, even brought me a cold brew :D. Their cold brew wasn't bad, but I wouldn't put it among my top cold brews.
I felt antsy, unsure of myself. Maybe I shouldn't have booked a tour. Would I have to talk to the other passengers or the crew? Why did even the idea of that, when I had no idea how many other people there were, or what kind of people they were, when they could've been swapped out with amorphous black blobs, fill me with dread?
Stepping out into the cool morning air helped. Even this early, before the sun was fully out, it wasn't cold. The buildings around me were still tinged with a shadowy blue, and driving by the green-blue sea felt like moving through a dream.
turtle canyon snorkel tour
I reached the parking lot too early, waited until the clock passed 6:45, then stepped outside. I walked up to the pier, passed another larger group where I heard, "are you looking for Captain Max? that's over there", and veered in the direction of a smaller group of people a little further down the pier.
There were four caucasians, three that seemed to be a group and one that was on his own. I don't mean to stereotype (or maybe I do, a little), but on the surface, the group of the three looked like a postcard for white tourists in Hawaii. There was a middle-aged man with a beard, a bit of a beer belly, and a Hawaiian shirt, and a younger man and woman who were possibly his children or possibly a couple? The younger man looked like a slightly more fit version of the older one, tall, stocky, only starting on the beer belly, and the woman looked like she'd stepped out of a plastic surgery commercial. Not to say that she had gotten plastic surgery, or that it mattered either way, but she had that look: tiny, tan face with hollow cheeks, giant lips, and thick fake eyelashes, blonde hair pulled up in a bob. They looked older than me, but not by much, so if I were to guess, I'd say they were both in their early to mid 30s. The one on his own I don't remember that much—he seemed normal?
One of the people in the group of three had started talking to the one on his own. I stopped a few steps away from them. I don't like walking up to groups in general, and I didn't want to be talked to by that group of the three. They seemed a little intense (though really I don't know anything about them so this is probably my misperception, I mean, they seemed friendly enough), and I wasn't sure my morning brain could handle any level of intensity. I shouldn't have worried though. The woman eyed me a little, but aside from that, none of them tried to approach me.
While we stood there waiting, I wished for a little bit that I'd stayed in the car longer, but overall my timing was good. It wasn't long before the boat captain arrived (Max, lol. I laugh because I didn't missed his name during the introduction and didn't immediately connect the dots from him to Captain Max Boat Tours), as well as the last passenger, an older man with white hair and an eastern european accent.
The group of three started joking around a little with the captain. I guess they were trying to lighten the mood, but I didn't find their jokes funny. It was things like, "if xxx happens, can I get my money back? haha", or "so, like, how do you know that we're safe out there? okay, but like, how do you know know?"
We walked over to the inflatable boat, a small boat with exactly six seats. That's why I'd chosen this tour in the first place, because it was capped at six people.
Our snorkeling guide was waiting there. He was...kind of cute? Gah, I don't want to be this kind of superficial person, but I guess I am. He had a nice voice too... I'll stop here.
I got the best seat on the boat, in the front along with the older, possibly eastern european man. He talked about his wife and children, an easy conversation where I didn't have to contribute much. And when Max drove the boat at high speed, we got a full view of the front of the boat carving through the ocean, spraying mist against our cheeks. Felt the rush of our speed, felt how small we were in this gray-blue early morning ocean, mountains in the distance and clouds overhead.
The spot where we stopped felt like a random location out in the water to me. But underneath the water, they told us, there were moorings to tie the boat into. Boats were't allowed to drop anchor here, to keep from hurting the coral or wildlife.
After they passed out fins, snorkel equipment, and floaties, we jumped into the water.
At first the water felt cold, but it didn't take to long to adjust. Especially since I was distracted by the fish around us. The snorkel guide threw some food into the water for the fish, and they swarmed up to the surface to get their fill. I asked him what the food was, and he said dog food, the mini kind. They used to use larger dog food, but only the larger fish were able to eat that kind. And before that, he said they used hot cheetos. That was a big surprise for me. I guess fish in Hawaii know their snacks.
I discarded the floatie early on. It was fun to try diving down a short distance in the water, even though the visibility wasn't great, and the coral was a dull, whitish color. Some of the fish swam closer to the coral and didn't come up to the surface, like a couple small yellow ones that seemed to be eating something near the coral.
I didn't go very far down though. For one thing, I didn't want to cause any concern, but also, it was much harder to pop my ears for the pressure than I'd thought it would be. I've never had any problem with that in a pool, but I guess it's not as easy with a snorkel on and in the ocean.
I missed the first turtle. I was too far away when our snorkel guide pointed it out. But it wasn't too much of a loss. Not long after, he pointed out another one swimming by us. So close the snorkel guide had to pull me away when I wasn't sure which direction to go to get out of its way. It was huge, its body the size of my torso. I saw four more turtles, three coming up to get air, and one underneath us. One of them lingered a while at the surface, and we were able to watch it crane its head up several times to get air.
The beer-bellied possible dad dove a little too close to a turtle (on purpose -___-), the blonde woman was able to take a video for her children, the others got their shots with their waterproof phones. I was reminded how mysterious, how mystical wildlife is. That a sea-dweller would need air.
Soon it was time to return to the boat. Good timing, again, for me. Though I wanted to see more of the wildlife, my body wasn't up to it. I'd started diving more because the slight bob of the waves on the surface was making me a little motion sick.
Another round of speed boating—wooot! We talked a bit with the snorkel guide and captain, who had been so friendly and helpful throughout, and soon were back at the pier. I touched my face as I walked back to my car, feeling the indents left by the snorkel.
I surprised myself by feeling happy that I'd gone. Of course I enjoyed seeing the turtles and fish, but enjoyment isn't the same thing as happiness, and while I'm generally okay at enjoying myself (or at least faking it enough that no one else feels uncomfortable), I'm not so good at feeling happy.
I think I was a bit proud of myself in a way. I know that's silly, what's there to be proud of for attending a tour I booked? But I suppose I've always been a little scared that if left on my own I would curl up in a cave and never emerge, that any courage I have only comes from my friends. So it still felt important to me that I didn't back out at the last minute, that I talked to a few strangers, that I tried something new on my own. Even though in reality they were all such small things.
ali'i coffee
Back in the car, I got a text from my roommate. His friend hadn't been able to get a day off work, so he was free!
He came to pick me up from my hotel after I finished showering, and since he'd been chilling at Ali'i coffee, even brought me a cold brew :D. Their cold brew wasn't bad, but I wouldn't put it among my top cold brews.
